Initial thoughts:
I walked into this series already knowing I would love it. Nina’s ability to create a character with richness and realness, build them a world you could live in, and make it all feel important to you — it really is a gift. 

Having made the rookie error of reading book three in this series first, I had a good idea about how some things were going to end up — but I loved getting there. 

What I loved:
First, I loved learning more about the town of Hope Lake. Seriously, I wanna go there, maybe move there. (Ok, not move there, I don’t do snow, lol!) Kinda like the fans in the football stadium are sometimes called the “12th man” at a game… supporting their team and influencing the process, I feel like this town is another character in the story. There are some things that happen in the story ONLY because they’re in a town like Hope Lake. 

I loved the families and friends of the main characters. They all contributed so much to the entire feel of the story. The scenes with Emma and the other two parts of their “friendship quartet” were really great, and I loved seeing how close they all still were, even with the rift between Emma and Cooper. The elderly ladies group cracked me up and made me cheer.  

I loooooved every time Cooper called Emma “Emmanuelle”, even though it drove her nuts. I loved that even though he made her crazy now (for any number of valid reasons), she still allowed herself to remember some of their happier times. She didn’t shut herself off from those memories. I loved Cooper’s steadfast belief in the town, and his interactions with the residents during his campaign. Even when he wasn’t 100% sure of himself, his genuine dedication to them never wavered. 

As far as the conflict with these two — this mashup of  “second chance romance”/”friends to lovers”/”enemies to lovers” tropes — I was worried that it would get to me, but it didn’t. At each point I could see something happening that, in other stories would get dragged out too long, or handled badly, but this author just nailed it! Yes, I cried when things got mucked up, and that sucked cause I don’t like to cry, but I didn’t spend page after page feeling gutted and horrible about the situations that were happening. I SO appreciated that! Then — when it was time for the happy — I was ALL ABOUT THE HAPPY!! 

What I didn’t love:
This is the second time that I feel like the leading lady “got off easier” in the responsible for the pair’s conflict. Yes, Cooper broke her heart… and yes, when you’re young, you don’t always handle that in the best ways. But there were circumstances in both pivotal moments of their younger years that *could* have been handled differently — on both of their parts — and I feel like Emma blamed Cooper for all of it, and he just took on all of it. She could have done things differently, too. Having said that — everything was written realistically — I can easily see exactly those situations happening, and them going exactly as they were written. 

Final thoughts:

Of course I loved this book. I was thrilled with my HEA, and I can’t wait to get to the next in the series. 

Initial thoughts:
I adore magical realism, and Menna’s stories have intrigued me since I first discovered her. It’s a bit darker than I thought it would be, and was much more involved than I anticipated, based solely on the write-up. I wasn’t disappointed, just surprised. There is quite a bit more going on than just Alba’s story.

What I loved:
This story has so many of the little details I love in magical realism. The magic is woven through the story in such a lyrical, organic way. The house itself plays such a large part in the story – both as the setting, and as a character that truly influences the residents. I love that previous houseguests “keep in touch” with their more recent counterparts.

There ended up being significant time dedicated to all four of the “current” residents of the house. Each story entertwined with the other by virtue of the womans’ time together. Getting to see the story unfold for each of them, their history – their growth – and their path forward, in their own head, was really interesting. Each of them is in the house to overcome something from their past, and this is where things got a little darker than I anticipated. All of the info was important, of course, I just wasn’t expecting the tone. The author definitely gave each of them depth and complexity. They all managed to get exactly what they needed from the house, and within themselves.

As far as Alba, our “main” main character, goes – her history includes betrayal (on a few levels) and unfortunate family dynamics. Her “gift”, very much like a form of synesthesia, was a really interesting aspect of her journey. There was enough humor to keep the story light in the right places (a ghost in the kitchen sink?), and enough seriousness to give it impact. I was really invested in her attempt to overcome her past and creating a new life for herself (and even find an unexpected romance!)

What I didn’t love:
First, and I almost didn’t include this here because things ended up working out really well — I was confused when we got so deep into each of the other characters’ stories. I was expecting them to play a part in Alba’s story, of course, but didn’t realize we’d be so involved in each of their transformations. In the end, I enjoyed it, but I did spend a lot of time during the first half of the book wanting to get back to Alba, when the others took center page.

I also had some issue with how often the “betrayal” situation came into Alba’s head, with no specifics given to the reader. I understand that some details kept back are for later impact, and we don’t NEED to know everything at the start. My frustration was simply how often it came up in Alba’s thoughts, without having any idea what actually happened.

Final thoughts:
Overall, the book was both more and less than I expected. It was much more complex than I anticipated, and less of the lighthearted magical realism that I have been used to in my reading history. I definitely appreciated how much thought was given to each of the characters, how they interacted with each other, and the house. I would liken this story more to something from Alice Hoffman than Sarah Addison Allen. But honestly, they all write magic into their words, and now that I know better what to expect, I’m so looking forward to more words from Menna van Praag.